Post 86: Blythe, CA – Intaglios

Blythe, CA – Intaglios

Jan 30th, 2018

Giant male Intaglio

This beautiful sunny day, we decided to take the girls and make the short trip to Blythe, CA – Intaglios. We had heard about this interesting spot from a flyer Bill had picked up in a restaurant of all places. After googling the location on line, Bill was intrigued and and was dying to try out his new Drone. He convinced Joy that this was the ONLY way to appreciate the Intaglios, since we did not have a helicopter to fly over them lol.

The drive was only 18 miles from Midland where we were currently camping and it was new territory for us to explore as we drove along. This is always exciting for us.

The directions on line were perfect, we came up on the stone monument on the right side of the road and knew we had to turn left. The road was rough going but well marked with a fence on either side to guide you up into the area. We came to the parking area of the first one and let the girls out.

Arriving on site

Lucky for us, no one else was around, so we were able to let the girls loose and wander up to the first enclosed hieroglyphs drawings. The drawings have all been fenced off to preserve them.

At the bottom of each fenced in area, stands a small sign with an aerial picture of the enclosed hieroglyph and a supposition of what was believed to be the significance of that drawing.

Looking at the “real life ” hieroglyph and then the picture, it suddenly becomes very clear what is on the ground before you. The whole history of who placed the hieroglyph there, when and why, then becomes even more impressive. Realizing how many hundreds or possibly a thousand years that these amazing pictures have laid here to tell a story.

Quote from 4 MAY, 2015 – 13:56BRYAN HILL: The creators of the Blythe Intaglios are believed to be Native Americans that lived along the Colorado River, but there is no agreement as to which tribes made them or why. One possibility put forward is that they were constructed by the Patayan, who occupied the region from ca. 700 to 1550 AD.

More to see

There were actually 2 or 3 different areas to view these fascinating Intaglios. All within 1,000 ft of each other. So we just drove up the road to view each one. The area was extremely well kept and well marked so it was easy to find each one.

The Blythe Intaglios were first discovered on November 12th, 1931. George Palmer, an Army Air Corps pilot, who flew over them while flying from Hoover Damn to Los Angeles. This discovery led to a survey of the area. The huge figures then became classified as historical landmarks. The name Giant Desert Figures was attached to them. It was not until the 1950’s that the area was explored further.

As you look at the pictures of the Intaglios, you will see some visible tire damage on some of them. This was caused when the area was used for desert training during WWII by General Patton.

For more information

If you are interested and would like more information, please see the link for Blythe Intaglios. This is a very interesting artical with a several pictures :).